50 Fun Facts About Australian Open

In which city is the Australian Open played?

Melbourne is the tournament's permanent home at Melbourne Park; in earlier decades the event rotated between cities including Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Where does the Australian Open fall in the calendar of the four Grand Slams?

First of the four Grand Slams each year, the Australian Open is held in January; the 2021 edition was the exception, pushed back three weeks into February by the pandemic.

On what surface has the Australian Open been played since its 1988 move to Flinders Park?

Hard court came with the 1988 move to Flinders Park, a purpose-built tennis centre the tournament needed after outgrowing its old home.

Which surface did the Australian Open use before 1988?

Grass was the surface until 1987, when Stefan Edberg beat Pat Cash in the last final played on it; the change left Wimbledon as the only Grand Slam still played on grass.

What nickname is the Australian Open known by?

The Happy Slam was once the major to miss: for decades many of the world's leading players simply stayed away from the tournament.

Under what name was the Australian Open first held in 1905?

The Australasian Championships began in 1905 as a men-only event won by Rodney Heath; women's singles was not added until 1922.

Which country outside Australia has hosted the Australian Open?

New Zealand hosted twice, in Christchurch in 1906 and Hastings in 1912, because a single association then ran the championship for both countries.

Which venue was the Australian Open's home before the move to Flinders Park in 1988?

Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club was the tournament's home until 1987, by which time the event had outgrown the old club and needed a purpose-built complex.

What kept most overseas stars away from the early Australian championships?

The long sea voyage from Europe kept most overseas stars away for decades; their reluctance eased only when jet travel made the trip practical.

Why was there no Australian Open at all in 1986?

The dates moved from December to January: the 1985 edition ended in December and the next began in January 1987, so no tournament fell in 1986.

The Australian Championships became the Australian Open in 1969 by first admitting whom?

Professional players were first admitted in 1969, a year after the other three majors opened up; until then only amateurs could enter.

Which man won a record tenth Australian Open singles title in 2023?

Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas for his tenth title in 2023 despite a hamstring injury, one year after a visa dispute kept him out of the tournament.

Which Australian holds the record of eleven women's singles titles?

Margaret Court won eleven Australian singles titles: seven in a row from 1960, then four more after a brief retirement in the mid-1960s.

Which Australian won a record five consecutive men's titles from 1963 to 1967?

Roy Emerson, nicknamed 'Emmo', won six Australian titles including five straight from 1963 to 1967; his record of six stood until 2019.

Which Swede is the only player to win Australian Open singles titles both before and after the 1988 move?

Mats Wilander won at the old venue in 1983 and 1984, then took the first title at the new complex in 1988 by beating local hope Pat Cash in five sets.

Which pair each won the Australian Open both before and after its 2008 surface change?

Roger Federer and Serena Williams each won on the green Rebound Ace courts and again on blue Plexicushion; Serena took the 2007 title while unseeded and ranked 81st.

Which arena is the main show court at the Australian Open?

Rod Laver Arena opened in 1988 and was renamed in January 2000 for the Australian who twice won all four majors in a single year.

Which American won the Australian Open four times between 1995 and 2003?

Andre Agassi won in 1995 on his first appearance at the tournament, beating defending champion Pete Sampras, and added titles in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

Which Australian Open arena opened in 1988 with a numbered name and was renamed in 2003?

Margaret Court Arena opened in 1988 as Show Court One and was renamed in 2003; since a rebuild in the mid-2010s it has also staged basketball, netball and concerts.

John Cain Arena opened in 2000 under which sponsor's name?

Vodafone was the opening sponsor in 2000, followed by Hisense; since 2020 the arena has honoured John Cain, the state premier who drove the building of the tennis precinct.

In 2015 the Australian Open became the first major with three what?

Retractable roofs covered three courts from 2015, when a rebuilt third arena joined the two biggest, so play can go on whenever it rains.

What is the Australian Open's fourth major show court, unveiled in November 2021, called?

Kia Arena, a 5,000-seat stadium unveiled in November 2021, takes its name from the tournament's main sponsor rather than from a tennis great.

Which court surface brand has the Australian Open used since 2020?

GreenSet took over as court supplier in 2020 but, despite the name, the tournament kept its familiar blue courts.

What is the Australian Open men's singles trophy called?

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup honours the first overseas man to win Wimbledon, in 1907, who skipped most editions of his home championship but won it in 1911.

The women's singles trophy is named after which five-time champion of the 1920s?

Daphne Akhurst won five titles between 1925 and 1930 and died at just 29, which is why the women's champion has received a memorial cup in her name since 1934.

In 2021 the Australian Open became the first Grand Slam to do what at every match?

The 2021 tournament was the first major to use electronic line judging only, with no line umpires on any court, partly to cut on-site staff during the pandemic.

How does the Australian Open settle a deciding set that reaches six games all?

A first-to-10 tiebreak, played at six games all in the deciding set, was adopted in 2019; by 2022 all four majors used the same format.

Since 2024 the Australian Open has started on which day of the week?

The tournament has opened on a Sunday since 2024, adding a fifteenth day; day sessions were also cut to two matches to stop play dragging into the early hours.

Which weather hazard has had its own Australian Open policy since 1998?

Extreme heat has had its own policy since 1998; since 2019 officials have used a five-step heat stress scale that weighs sun, humidity and wind as well as air temperature.

Which Swiss teenager became the youngest Australian Open singles champion in 1997, aged 16?

Martina Hingis won the 1997 title at 16 years and 3 months without losing a set, then kept the trophy for the next two years as well.

Which network became the Australian Open's host broadcaster in 2019, ending Seven's run of more than four decades?

Nine took over in 2019 in a swap of summer sports: it gave up its cricket rights to Seven and picked up the tennis instead.

Mark Edmondson, in 1976, was the last what to win the Australian Open men's singles?

Home player is right: no Australian man has won the title since Edmondson, who was ranked just 212th in the world when he did it.

Which Australian won the 2002 Wimbledon men's title but never his home Grand Slam?

Lleyton Hewitt won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002, but the closest he came at home was the 2005 final, which he lost after winning the first set.

Which Australian won the 2022 women's title on home soil and retired weeks later at 25?

Ashleigh Barty won the 2022 title without dropping a set; years earlier she had walked away from tennis to play top-level cricket before coming back.

Whom did Mark Edmondson beat in the storm-hit 1976 Australian Open final?

John Newcombe, the defending champion, lost in four sets on a day when a windstorm drove both players off the court for half an hour.

Ken Rosewall, the Open Era's oldest major singles champion, holds which other Australian Open record?

Youngest men's champion is the other: Ken Rosewall first won the title at 18 in 1953 and last won it at 37 in 1972, a record 19 years apart.

After the Australian Open's record 5-hour-53-minute final in 2012, what were both players given during the trophy speeches?

Chairs to sit on were brought out because both finalists could barely stand after a match that finished at 1:37 in the morning.

Which Italian won his first major at the 2024 Australian Open after beating Djokovic in the semi-final?

Jannik Sinner came from two sets down in the 2024 final, defended the title in 2025 and in June 2024 became the first Italian world number one.

Whom did Rafael Nadal beat from two sets down in the 2022 final to win a then-record 21st major?

Daniil Medvedev led by two sets, but Rafael Nadal, months after a foot injury had ended his 2021 season early, won in five.

Which Croatian lost the 2018 Australian Open final as his opponent claimed a 20th major?

Marin Čilić won five games in a row to take the final into a fifth set, only to lose the decider 6-1.

Serena Williams won her 23rd major singles title at the 2017 Australian Open while what?

Pregnant by about eight weeks, Serena Williams beat her sister Venus in the final; the news only came out in April, when she posted a photo by accident.

Which Belgian won the 2011 Australian Open after coming back to tennis as a mother?

Kim Clijsters won the 2011 final after dropping the first set and said fans could 'finally call me Aussie Kim', a nickname from her earlier romance with an Australian player.

Which Chinese player won the 2014 Australian Open after losing two earlier finals there?

Li Na won the 2014 title after losing the 2011 and 2013 finals, retired that September as reigning champion, and in 2019 became the Hall of Fame's first Asian player.

Which Swede won the 2002 Australian Open having never before passed a Grand Slam quarter-final?

Thomas Johansson took his only major in a draw thrown wide open when the top two seeds both lost in the first round, then won the final in four sets.

Which Russian beat the home favourite in the 2005 Australian Open final for his second and last major?

Marat Safin won the 2005 final in four sets, having saved a match point against the world number one in a five-set semi-final.

Which Czech won the 1998 Australian Open but tested positive for nandrolone at Wimbledon later that year?

Petr Korda celebrated his title with his trademark scissor kick; his daughter Nelly became a major-winning golfer and his son Sebastian a tour-level tennis player.

Which American won the 2001 and 2002 Australian Open women's titles as part of a career comeback?

Jennifer Capriati, a teen prodigy in 1990 who had dropped off the tour, came back to win the 2001 and 2002 Australian titles and the 2001 French Open within 13 months.

Which German won the 2016 Australian Open, her first major, by beating Serena Williams in the final?

Angelique Kerber was one point from losing in the first round, yet went on to beat Serena Williams in three sets and finish 2016 as world number one.

Which Belarusian became her country's first Grand Slam singles champion by winning the 2012 Australian Open final?

Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in the 2012 final, Belarus's first Grand Slam singles title, and rose to world number one the same day.

Which Australian wheelchair player won a 2021 quad singles Golden Slam and was 2022 Australian of the Year?

Dylan Alcott won all four majors and Paralympic gold in 2021; his first Paralympic gold, at 17, had come in wheelchair basketball before he switched sports.